NEW YORK: The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday denied the media reports that it plans to pull out of Afghanistan in the next month if the efforts to persuade the interim Afghan government to let women work for it do not succeed, adding there has been either ” misunderstanding or misinterpretation” of what the UN officials have said in this connection.
UN rejects media reports about Afghanistan
The UN chief Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said they (UN) are staying in Afghanistan. The spokesperson was talking to the media persons during a regular news briefing at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The report regarding the UN warning about withdrawal from Afghanistan in May was published by Western outlets, including The Guardian and AP.
The media reported the statement of Achim Steiner, Administrator of UNDP. Dujarric said that the United Nations would review the current situation resulting from the Afghan Taliban ban on women in Afghanistan from working for the UN on May 5.
However, the UN spokesperson said, “We have been in Afghanistan.” He added that they are continuing to do whatever they can in order to reach many people in Afghanistan. He said, “We can try to push back on this issue, to say recent edict by the authority.”
However, at the same time, the spokesman added, “We are also reviewing how we can carry out our work and how we can do it while giving respect to global Human Rights Law, while.”
Over 3,300 Afghans employed by the United Nations, including 2,700 males and 600 females, have stayed in their houses since April 12 but continue to carry out work and will be provided salaries, Dujarric said. The United Nation’s 600 staff, including over 200 women, is not affected by the Afghan Taliban ban.
